Filing-cabinet



(No Model.)

F. W. HOYT.

FILING CABINET.

Patented Aug N. PETERS, Fhma-mhe m har, Wnhlngton, D. c.

I UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEND WV. HOYT, OF BIRMINGHAM, CONNECTICUT.

FILING-CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of- Letters Patent No. 324,324, dated August 11,1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEND W. HoY'r, of Birmingham, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Filing-Cabinets; and I do here by declare the following, when taken in con nection with accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description'of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in'- Figure l, a side view, Fig. 2, a vertical central section through the openings in the panels; Fig. 3, a transverse sect-ion through the openings in the panels.

This invention relates to an apparatus having for its object to avoid the petty charges heretofore necessary to be made in small dealingssueh as groceries, &c.

In localities where credit is given to customers pending pay-daysuch as in factory villages and like placesthe dealings with the customers are largely for very small amounts, many times but a few cents, but charges are numerous; and to keep the accounts incurs time and trouble, in many cases greater than the profits arising from such petty sales. To avoid these petty charges, I have devised a system which consists in the use of couponbookssay, for instance, a book containing five dollars worth of couponsthe coupons being for one, two, three, or more cents. Each of these books is sold to the customers, and credit given for them, to be paid for at some future time, the coupon-book charged to their account, the coupons being redeemable at the pleasure of the purchaser. When goods are required by the holder of the coupons, they are paid for in coupons, the coupons so taken always showing to the merchant the amount of goods which have been delivered, and the book indicating to the purchaser the amount of goods to which he is entitled. The coupons received by the merchants from each purchaser must be retained by themselves. It is to a device for conveniently receiving and preserving these coupons that my invention specially relates and it consists in a case having numerous openings through its side or sides, through each of which the point of a hook or pin is presented from the inside, onto which the coupons as they are received may be placed through the opening and so as to pass into the space beyond the opening, and be thereby preserved for inspection whenever the merchant shall desire so to do, and as more fully hereinafter described.

In illustrating my invention, I show the case as presenting four sides, each side being in the form of a panel adapted to turn on a vertical axis.

A represents the'panel, and, as here represented, it is hung at the top and bottom upon pivots a, and so that it may be turned on the pivots into a transverse position, to expose both sides, as indicated in Fig. 3. Through the panels several openings are made, represented in Fig. l as l 2 3 4. Each opening throughout the case has some distinctive mark, say numerals, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Upon the inside of the panel at each open ing a hook, B, is fixed below the opening, its point turned upward and outward, so as to extend through its opening, as at b, Fig. 2. The panels are provided with any suitable fastening device, as indicated at C, Fig. 1, so that whatever may be within the case is under the care of the merchant.

The openings are respectively alloted to different customers, so that the merchant knows whioh opening belongs to a particular customer. That customer, having purchased his coupons, presents them for redemption in goods or otherwise, and the merchant receiving the coupon places it upon the hook, and passes it through the opening onto the hook, as indicated at d, Fig. 2. After the coupon has passed the opening onto the hook, it cannot be removed therefrom, except by opening the door or panel to expose the hook on the reverse side; but in so doing the coupons may be returned through the opening out over the point of the hook, but when the doors are locked the coupons are preserved, and represent the accounts of the respective customers.

Sometimes the purchaser fails to have the coupons with him when he desires'to make purchases. To accommodate such customers, the merchant, knowing that the customer has a coupon-book, enters upon a slip of paper the amount of the purchase, and places that paper upon the hook instead of a coupon; and that he may know that a coupon is due for goods so delivered, an indicator, E, as here represented consisting of simply a disk of metal, is eccentricall y hung below the several openings, and so that it may be turned up over the opening, as indicated at the opening 4, Fig. 1, or turned down, to leave the opening clear, as shown at the other openings. Vhen a slip has been placed upon the hook, showing that that particular customer owes coupons, or that there is a charge upon the hook to him, the merchant turns the indicator up over the opening, and when again the customer shall appear to pay the slip or deliver the coupons thereby called for the merchant opens the door, removes the slip, places the proper coupons on the hook, then turns the indicator from over the opening; and that the customer may see for himself that something is due from him to the merchant, the word Due may be placed below the opening, to be exposed when the indicator is turned over the opening, or hidden when the indicator is turned away from the openin The indicator may be placed at any convenient point about the openin The openings should be so small that the lingers cannot be introduced through them to remove coupons which may hang upon the hooks upon the inside. By this construction the coupons are readily received and securely held, and without the liability to misplacing the coupons, as would be the case were the hooks without the protection of such openings and within the case.

The shape of the case or material of which it is made is not essential to my invention. I preferably, however, make the case from wood, and it may be made a highly-ornamental article of furniture for a store.

1t constructed to present different sides, as indicated in Fig. 3, it is desirable that it be hung upon center bearings, as at F, upon which the case may be rotated, to present the respective sides. The panels may be hung in any convenient or well-known manner-such, for instance, as upon hinges, as a door-and provided with a lock to secure them.

Vhile designed with special reference to petty charges, as I have before described, this cabinet is adapted to several uses, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention to any particular use.

I claim 1. The herein-described cabinet, consisting of one or more panels, each panel constructed with one or more openings, combined with a hook for each opening, fixed on the reverse side, each hook turned outward to present its point through its opening, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described cabinet, consisting of one or more panels, each panel constructed with one or more openings, combined with a hook for each opening, fixed on the reverse side, each hook turned outward to present its point through its opening, with an indicator adapted to be turned over the opening or away from it, as the case may be, substantially as described.

FRIEND w. norr.

\Vitnesses:

01ers. Human, J. ToMLiiNsoN. 

